When the lights go out
by AddictionHigh
Summary: Emily Prentiss is being haunted in her sleep by her worst nightmare; Ian Doyle. But Emily isn't the only person who is being haunted in their sleep; Derek Morgan is having nightmares as well. As is JJ, Reid, Rossi, Garcia and Hotch. Can the team do their job well if they are all suffering nightmares in their sleep?
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm back. I will update my other stories soon, I promise! However, after my building was on fire Thursday night, my muse decided she wanted to go down a new path and write a crime story filled with angst. So here it is. It would have been posted much sooner, but unfortunately my goddaughter passed away Friday so writing was the last thing on my mind. RIP Taylor. Anyway, let me know what you think! Oh, and as ever, massive thanks to Briannaaa2012 for being my beta.**

The floor of the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI was silent at such an hour. Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau had been the last agent to leave, switching off all the lights at 11:30pm and had made her way home to her husband and son. She didn't usually stay so late, but the previous case the team had worked on had been a long one in Tennessee and there was a lot of paperwork. She hadn't noticed the black substance by the kettle in the kitchenette when she turned out the light; she really wasn't paying too much attention; she just wanted to get home to her son and husband. Everything was as expected within the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia; deadly silent and dark. Nobody was there as everyone had gone home: the last security guard had left at 1:30am and had nothing to report. If he had bothered to check the BAU again though, rather than relying on the information given to him by JJ when she had left, he would have found that something wasn't right and he should call for added backup, rather than going home. It was a thought that, when he arrived at work the following day, would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Emily Prentiss groaned as she rolled over in her king sized bed. For the third night in a row, she'd had nightmares now and she was beginning to get worried that they were affecting her job. Her lack of sleep was taking its toll on her concentration at work. Weary eyed, she glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table; 2:14am. Groaning again, she sat up and rubbed her tired eyes, deciding to get a glass of water from the kitchen before trying to get back to sleep: she still had over 4 hours until she had to get up. She slipped her slippers on soundlessly and made her way to the kitchen, trying to remember her dream. Something had awoken her abruptly and she was pretty sure it had something to do with her colleagues.

After finishing her glass of water and rinsing her glass, Emily quickly made her way back to bed after double checking that her security alarm was set and the front door bolted. She had remembered what her dream had been about and it terrified her. Like when she knew Ian Doyle had escaped from prison in Korea, Emily Prentiss feared for her life again; and her colleagues. Logically, she knew she was just being paranoid and that her dream was simply that: a dream. She knew Ian Doyle was dead. Chloe Donaghy had shot him while she was there. She had seen him die slowly. Painfully. Ian Doyle hurting her team now, months after his death, was impossible. But it still put her on edge enough to double check her state-of-the-art security system and that her front door was bolted shut.

After tossing and turning for another hour after getting back into bed, Emily finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep at 3:32am for another 3 hours sleep before her alarm woke her at 6:30 so she could start getting ready for work. Tiredly, she stopped the music blaring from her alarm clock and made her way to the bathroom for a quick, hot shower. Turning the shower on, Emily stripped herself of the baby blue nightshirt she wore to bed and stepped under the spray of water, sighing softly as the heat washed away the headache she had somehow managed to acquire during the night. After the nightmares of Ian Doyle, Emily felt dirty again, and being able to scrub herself clean, despite knowing she was, felt good. It made her feel alive again. Reminded her that she had won the battle against Doyle and had come out on top; alive while he was dead.

Stepping out of the shower 15 minutes later, Emily quickly dressed herself in her black pant suit with her crimson red shirt, and headed downstairs for her morning cup of coffee. Although while in Paris she had given up caffeine to try and relax more, in the last couple of days she had started drinking it again in order to stay awake during the day as her nightmares were keeping her awake during the night. Pouring herself a large mug, Emily took her time drinking her coffee and eating her cereal before washing her dishes. Grabbing her go-bag she locked her door behind her and headed off to work at 7:15am.

Reaching FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia 45 minutes later, Emily parked her black Lexus in the south parking lot and made her way into the building, flashing her badge at the security guard on the door. However, instantly, she could tell something wasn't right. The guard was stood upright and staring straight ahead, normally, he was sat slumped in his chair reading the morning paper. "Patrick? Is everything okay?" she asked concerned, stopping next to him. Patrick jumped slightly when he heard her voice; usually she just walked straight past after flashing her badge. "Agent Prentiss, you're with the BAU aren't you?" he asked her, focusing his attention on her rather than straight ahead. With a raised brow, Emily nodded her head softly while placing her ID in the inside pocket of her jacket again. "Yes" she said slowly "is everything okay?" Patrick sighed. "You're to meet at north parking lot today, ma'am" he said softly. "I'm not meant to give you any more information; Agent Hotchner will inform you as to why once you are there. You're not to enter the building." Emily nodded her head again before heading back to her car to drive round to the north parking lot. "Okay, thank you Patrick."

Getting back into her Lexus, Emily started the engine with a quiet purr and drove round to the north parking garage. It only took her five minutes, but by the time she had parked her car again, her colleagues had arrived. Well, all except Aaron Hotchner. Luckily, the morning was fairly warm however, so waiting the five minutes for him to arrive wasn't too bad. At least now they would find out why they weren't allowed to enter the building. Despite seeing other agents enter without a hitch.

**Well, there's the first chapter. It isn't great, but let me know what you think! Next chapter should be up fairly soon, I'll try and get it up by the end of the week, but I am seriously going to try and update my other stories as well! I'll try to have something updated by the end of the week! I'll leave it at that. ;-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter of "When The Lights Go Out" Enjoy! **

The whole team were waiting by the entrance of the North Parking Lot when Aaron Hotchner arrived. He looked slightly devilish, David Rossi noted to himself; almost like he hadn't been sleeping well. "What's going on, Aaron?" he asked softly, just as curious as the rest of the team as to why they weren't allowed in the building when it was quite clear other federal agents did not have the same restrictions. While waiting for Hotch to arrive, the team had been talking quietly amongst themselves trying to figure out why they were not allowed in the building. JJ had explained that she was the last to leave; which they all knew; at about 11:30pm, and hadn't noticed anything unusual. Something must have been out of the ordinary though: with the help of her colleagues, she ran through what she did again. Finishing off the report for the previous case and shutting down her computer. And then walking slowly around the building making sure nothing was out of place and all the lights were switched off; even with the impromptu cognitive interview, JJ didn't notice the black substance by the kettle in the kitchenette.

"There's a bomb in the kitchenette" Aaron Hotchner said sombrely, looking around his team with a tight-lipped smile; his eyes resting for a moment longer on JJ's. Seeing the fear flash through her eyes, Emily Prentiss offered JJ a genuine smile; it wasn't her fault someone had tried blowing the place apart. "If there's a bomb, why are other departments allowed into the building still?" Spencer Reid asked. "Surely a bomb on the sixth floor would blow the whole building apart and not just our department?"

"It's a gas bomb" Hotch explained "no departments on the sixth floor are allowed to enter, but the gases won't escape to other floors. We're going to be situated on the third floor today, working alongside the bomb squad. The director contacted me this morning; we are to profile the bomber, and not touch any new cases until the unsub is brought it. Nobody is to go anywhere near the sixth floor unless accompanied by a member of the bomb squad." Everyone nodded their heads softly in understanding as Hotch quietly moved in front of everyone and made his way into the building. JJ was looking decisively distraught: was it her fault that this had happened? She was the last one to leave the BAU... Although, having said that; the security guard she had reported to before she left should have checked the area himself rather than relying on JJ's word.

Walking into the building, Emily took hold of JJ's hand and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze before quickly releasing it and trying to get a grasp on her surroundings. Emily Prentiss had never entered the building from the North Parking Lot, and despite her Prentiss upbringing telling her to never admit defeat, she wouldn't deny she had no idea where she was going. Not that she had to admit to anybody she didn't know where she was going, she just silently fell into step beside JJ and walked; reaching the elevators she vaguely recognized and entering with the rest of her team. Within minutes, the whole team had reached the third floor and were slowly dominating the bomb squad department.

Seeing as the BAU had never worked with the bomb squad in such close quarters before; never even worked together on a case; Agent Hotchner deemed it necessary to give formal introductions to the team. After all, he had no idea how long the two teams would be working alongside each other, and knowing who everyone is, is always the best way to start an investigation. Usually, it was JJ that introduced the team to which ever police department they were working alongside. But this, obviously, was different. They weren't working with some police department of some town no one had heard of; they weren't trying to catch an UnSub who killed standard civilians. No, now they were working with another department within the FBI; they were trying to catch an UnSub who evidently wanted to kill FBI Agents.

It didn't take long for the introductions to be completed and for the two teams to crack on, together, trying to figure out who had put the safety of the sixth floor of the building under jeopardy. As anyone in the BAU could predict, JJ immediately took control of the media, and put any questions they had to bed. How the media had heard of the potential threat after such a short time of the BAU finding out never failed to amaze JJ; never the less, she was polite and answered all of their questions. Not that she actually answered their questions with what they wanted to hear. How could she? They wanted to know who held such a grudge against the Bureau as to try and kill a whole floor. If they didn't know the answer, how could she tell the media? After dispelling the rabid reporters, JJ headed back into the conference room with seven cups of terrible office coffee; one for each member of the team.

**So there's chapter two. Sorry it's so short but I've had extreme writers' block! I'll try to make the next chapter longer, I promise! **


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone smiled softly as JJ walked in with a tray of coffees and set it down on the table. "Thanks, JJ" they all murmured as they each grabbed a cup and took a cautious sip before continuing to talk about the case at hand. They didn't really have a lot, so Hotch told technology extraordinaire, Penelope Garcia, to go and commandeer a couple of computers and try and pull up the security footage of the previous night. With a quick nod and a quiet "yes sir" Garcia made her way out of the small conference room to the head of the SWAT Team, Agent Dexter, and quickly got hold of a couple of computers. They were nothing like the computers she was used to in her "lair" as she called it, but they were sophisticated enough to do the job: she had worked with worse computers when she had been out in the field with the team.

Quickly, Garcia pulled up the footage from the night before and watched it fairly quickly. Unfortunately though; she didn't see anything after JJ left at 11:31pm as time-stamped on the CCTV. Nothing at all. She didn't even see the security guard come into the BAU to do his job and check for any signs of anything going wrong. Just as Garcia was about to walk back to the conference room to report what she had, or hadn't as the case would seem, seem, something on the screen caught her eye. Slowly, she sat back down at the computer and re-watched the footage as she pulled her cell out of her pocket and called Derek Morgan quickly. Again, she didn't see anything happen after JJ left at 11:31pm; not even the security guard entering the BAU to do his job. Nothing at all until 2:47am.

"What've you found, princess?" Morgan asked as he walked into the computer lab that Garcia had commandeered, making Garcia jump slightly in her chair. She spun around in her swivel chair to face her 'Chocolate Adonis' with a confused look on her face. "I don't really know how to explain it..." she said softly as she spun back around to face her computers, clicking a few buttons and getting the computers to replay the footage once again. Sitting down next to Garcia, Morgan watched the screens intently; seeing exactly the same as Garcia had the previous times she had watched the video tape alone. "What was that?" he asked once the video had finished. "Can you play it again?" Garcia nodded her head softly, restarting the footage once again.

After watching the recording for a second time, Morgan asked Garcia to send it to the computer in the conference room the BAU had taken control over and made his way back to him team. He was leaving the blonde tech goddess with instructions to watch the CCTV from 8:00pm the previous night: the time the profilers of the BAU had left the premises. He could have told her to go back earlier and look at all the footage for the day before, but it would have been futile. While JJ was shut away in her office all day working on files, the profilers; well Prentiss, Morgan and Reid, were sat in the bullpen. There was no way somebody would have been able to get into the BAU before 8:00pm without somebody noticing. However after everyone had left; somebody may have been able to get in without JJ noticing them.

Thirty minutes later, the whole team had seen the tape three times: each time seeing exactly the same thing and also the footage from 8:00pm the once. Nothing had happened after 8:00pm either, though. The only movement that had been recorded was JJ walking around the bullpen at 10:45pm to distribute the case files for the team to do primary profiles for the following day; and her leaving and switching off the lights at 11:31.

**I am so sorry for the length of this and the delay in posting; I have serious writers' block with this story, but don't want to just give up on it. Thanks for sticking with me though! If you've got any ideas for this story, as I have persistent writers' block, I'd love to hear them and I might just incorporate them.**


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